Eight more US soldiers have been killed in five previously unreported attacks in different areas of Iraq over the past four days, the US military said on Saturday.
May is on track to be the bloodiest month this year for US forces, with 101 soldiers killed so far. April was the worst month so far this year for US forces, when 104 soldiers were killed.
A total of 3,452 US soldiers have been killed in Iraq since the US-led invasion to topple Saddam Hussein in 2003.
In the worst of the latest attacks, three soldiers were killed and another two were wounded when their patrol was hit by an explosion in Salahaddin province north of Baghdad on Saturday.
Another two soldiers were killed and three were wounded by a roadside bomb east of Baghdad, the military said.
In other attacks, one soldier was killed and two were wounded by a roadside bomb in southern Baghdad on Saturday. Another soldier was killed and three more were wounded in Taji, 20 km (12 miles) north of Baghdad, on Friday, the military said.
A US Marine was also killed in western Anbar province on Saturday.
Thousands of extra US and Iraqi troops have been deployed around Baghdad and other areas as part of a security crackdown aimed at dragging Iraq back from the brink of all-out sectarian civil war between majority Shi'ites and Sunni Arabs dominant under Saddam.
{{/usCountry}}Thousands of extra US and Iraqi troops have been deployed around Baghdad and other areas as part of a security crackdown aimed at dragging Iraq back from the brink of all-out sectarian civil war between majority Shi'ites and Sunni Arabs dominant under Saddam.
{{/usCountry}}The crackdown is meant to buy time for Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's weak and divided government to meet a series of political benchmarks set by Washington which are aimed at promoting national reconciliation.